IT PROJECT ANALYST/MANAGER

IT PROJECT ANALYST/MANAGER I. DESCRIPTION OF WORK Positions in this banded class are responsible for project management work involving planning and coordination of information technology projects. To ensure that the assigned goals and objectives of the project(s) are accomplished within agreed upon time frames and budget limitations. This includes the responsibility to direct the work of other project team members and for managing team activities in order to assure the best use of time and resources to meet project defined objectives and deliverables. Projects may vary from managing small lesser technology projects to managing extremely complex projects that have agency, university or state wide impact. Projects managed may include projects of multiple technology disciplines (i.e. hardware, software, applications development, network infrastructure etc.) and/or significant business process reengineering efforts. Projects may involve significant risks to the state in areas of viability of service, public perception and monetary costs. Work typically involves the responsibility for identifying, understanding and managing business impact of projects. IT Project Managers may supervise lower level IT Project Managers at the contributing and journey levels. Positions are held accountable to inform IT executives, business sponsors, department heads and Agency/ University Administrators of IT project progress including management of deadlines and schedule, straying within the allotted budget and completing deliverables to ensure project success. II. ROLE DESCRIPTIONS BY COMPETENCY LEVEL Positions at this level manage small IT projects. Projects managed are low to medium risk, do not require complex technology and may provide new capabilities to a division or a small number of business functions within an agency. Manages project schedule, costs and deliverables. Requires ability to create a project plan and project schedule including identifying dependencies and constraints. Must be able to assign tasks to accomplish goals to appropriate project team members. Must have understanding of system development life cycles and ability to analyze and assess a customer s business environment and workflows. Must be able to troubleshoot problems and mitigate risks of medium complexity and applies lessons learned. Implements technical change management and configurations management process and monitors to ensure adherence by Positions at this level manage medium sized IT projects or multiple small IT projects with at least one with medium risk and impact or a major subset of a large high risk impact project. Projects can be complex with multiple technology disciplines and may include enterprise implementation. Responsible for project schedule, including the ability to staff resources through all phases of the project. Responsible for producing and maintaining project budget keeping stakeholders informed of potential budget changes. Knowledge of project management plans including communication, change, procurement and risk. Is well versed in IT and the relevant applications and platforms. Has working knowledge of client s business and strategic objectives and understands the agency and government politics that may impact projects. Provides leadership for project and manages Positions at this level are responsible for managing, organizing and leading large, complex IT projects with high risk. Must be able to manage IT projects involving multiple agencies or resulting in statewide or citizen impact. Normally manage IT projects requiring either enterprise implementation or multiple technology disciplines with significant business process re-engineering efforts. Responsible for project team managers including assigning work, performance reviews and hiring project team staff. Involved with review and issuance of the RFP, negotiations with vendors, and evaluations of proposals and award of contract. Monitors vendor performance and realigns projects as business needs change. Is proactive in managing complex projects to avoid problems and delays. Responsible for all phases and processes of the long term project that may last 5 years or more. Ensures

the team for project success. Establishes and maintains trust/relationship with all stakeholders. Ensures project teamwork as well as solicit feedback from team members to improve project performance. the project team in resolving issues and risks. Ensures adherence to Statewide Technical Architecture requirements. May mentor or supervise other IT project managers. Ensures that project deliverables meet all the business objectives defined in the project. adherence to System Development Life Cycle methodologies. Provides advice and counsel to executive level management regarding issues, risk, schedule, budget, scope, changes, communication and business process changes. A project management professional certification is preferred. COMPETENCIES 0BCompetency 1BDefinition 2BKnowledge - Technical 3BPossession of a designated level of technical skill or knowledge in the specific technical area(s) and the ability to keep up with current developments and trends in areas of expertise. 4BPlanning and Organizing 5BAbility to develop plans to accomplish work operations and objectives. Ability to arrange and assign work to use resources efficiently. Ability to develop strategic plans, organizational structures, and systems to fulfill legislative or mission driven organizational goals. 6BProject Management 7BAbility to provide oversight for project(s) and all related activities in that setting to include quality assurance and safety. Ability to coordinate and manage facilities, equipment, supplies and related resources as necessary for the project. Ability to monitor environmental risks, if any and quality control. Ability to establish a set of tasks and activities associated with an intended outcome and timeline. Ability to ensure actions are performed and/or implemented to achieve the results of the project. 8BTechnical Solution Development 9BAbility to demonstrate a methodical and logical approach to addressing customer needs. Ability to use innovative solutions and/or designs where appropriate. 10BTechnical Support 11BAbility to understand internal/external customer technologies and problem resolution techniques. Ability to communicate effectively with customers. Ability to listen to symptom descriptions; to analyze problems; to respond effectively and to provide constructive feedback to the client on problem resolution. 12BConsultancy Skills 13BAbility to provide advice and counsel. Ability to understand client programs, organization and culture. Note: Not all competencies apply to every position/employee; evaluate only those that apply. Competency statements are progressive.

17BProject Management 14BContributing 15BJourney 16BAdvanced Manages single small technology projects and subsets of larger technology projects. Projects are low-medium risk and have medium visibility/impact to the agency s success. Typically, agency approval only is required for the project. Manages the triple constraint of the project and report status of the phase schedule/milestones, phase costs, and project scope. For all identified issues and risks has corrective action plans, target dates, and owner defined. Escalates issues to upper management that cannot be resolved through mitigation. Executes quality checkpoints as defined in the project management plan. Monitors vendor performance as defined by contract, reports issues as needed. Communicates with various levels of stakeholders through reports and presentations; communication includes technical and program management and executive oversight groups. Leads medium-sized complex project(s), multiple small projects, at least one of which has medium risk and impact, or major subsets of large high risk and impact projects involving multiple staff across functional areas. Projects may include enterprise implementation, consists of multiple technology disciplines and/or significant business process re-engineering efforts. Follows agency/epmo approved PM methodology/framework, including risk management. Ensures satisfaction of all exit criteria for the appropriate gates in the State s project workflow. Provides timely response to issues raised by EPMO QA subsequent to monthly status assessments. Manages a vendor s performance ensuring that work is performed according to contract. Monitors and reports on vendor performance. Ensures business cases are revisited at the end of project phases and when change requests are processed. Communicates with various levels of stakeholders through reports and presentations; communication includes technical and program management and executive oversight groups. Responsible for managing, organizing and leading large, complex IT projects with high risk. Projects usually include enterprise implementation; consist of multiple technology disciplines and/or significant business process re-engineering efforts. Projects may involve multiple agencies and crossfunctional interaction between agencies. Responsibility for other Project Managers which includes assigning work, conducting performance reviews, and hiring staff. Manages the solicitation process, which includes issuance of the RFP, receipt of proposals, negotiation with vendors, evaluation of proposals, and award of the contract in accordance with Statewide IT Procurement rules. Builds, monitors, and reports on status of budget, scope, schedule and quality of the projects in accordance with SCIO /EPMO monthly status reporting requirements. Communicates with various levels of stakeholders through reports and presentations; communication includes technical and program management and executive oversight groups. Manages the expectations of all affected stakeholders. Provides reporting and meets with project sponsors to ensure their awareness of the status of the project and any related issues. Constant monitoring of vendor performance as defined by contract, notifying sponsor of potential performance issues. Continuously assesses business cases, realigns projects as business case changes, proactively identifies needed changes to eliminate failures and plans systematic corrective action plans. Recommends re-scoping, postponement, or cancellations as needed based on sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions, commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change. Analyzes how the project team is using their time and applies the analysis to the project time frame needs.

18BPlanning and Organizing 14BContributing 15BJourney 16BAdvanced Ability to create a project plan that is approved, realistic and formal. The plan should adhere to the agency standards. Includes a staffing plan, communication plan, change management plan, configuration management plan, project test plan, acceptance criteria, quality assurance plan, statement of work, procurement plan, training plan, deployment/roll out plan, and a risk management plan. Defines a project schedule identifying dependencies and constraints and assign the tasks to assigned project team members. Ensure resource requirements are published to higher level management. For project(s) assigned, is responsible to build project plan to work breakdown structure (WBS) level with team participation. Provides regular day-today planning and organizes the work of others. Owns management of project timelines, resources, staff, and leads through all phases of efforts. Participates in the solicitation process. Ensures business cases are in place for projects. As needed, follows change request process. Reorganizes work assignments of other employees and adapts their workload in response to unanticipated changes, if necessary. Responsible for the project, staffing, communication, change management, configuration management, procurement, training, and risk management plans. Also owns the quality plan, which includes specific measures of success. Develops, manages and monitors the integrated master schedule for highly complex projects or multiple phases of a project. Ensures that integrated master schedule is followed and is accountable for changes to the schedule. Develops or may manage team members to complete the project plan, budget, staffing plan, communication plan, change management plan, risk management plan, configuration management plan, test plan, acceptance criteria, disaster recovery/business continuity plan, operations and maintenance transition plan, quality assurance plan, procurement plan, training plan, and rollout plan. Manages the building of a business case for the projects that would include benefit estimates, cost estimates for project + 5 years operations and maintenance, and alignment with the business sponsor s strategic business plan. Facilitates make or buy analysis for the project, manages the creation of a Statement of Work, develops product specifications (e.g. design, performance, functional), identifies major project milestones, and facilitates creation of the RFP.

19BKnowledge- Technical Exhibits understanding of system development life cycle required for the type of project and is able to define work breakdown structures, and risk assessment accordingly for technology products or services Exhibits understanding of various testing techniques. Implements the appropriate techniques to validate the project s quality standards and acceptance criteria are met. Has general knowledge of clients business environment and relevant workflows Exhibits familiarity with the Statewide Technical Architecture standards Is well versed in IT, particularly relevant applications and platforms as well as agency and enterprise operational capabilities and strategies. Attains and applies domain knowledge. Has working knowledge of clients business environments, relevant workflows, and strategic objectives. Is familiar with project manager s book of knowledge (PMBOK) and is pursuing or maintains a project management professional certification. Is familiar with Statewide Technical Architecture standards. Certified PMP is preferred. Applies known Project Management (PMBOK based) approaches for developing and managing projects such as estimation methodologies, earned value calculations, and Risk Assessment/Mitigation Plan (RAMP). Stays abreast of State Technical Architecture standards and ensures adherence as applicable. Maintains or researches best practice knowledge of technology platforms, software products, applications, infrastructure and project management best practices. Ensures adherence to System Development Life Cycle methodologies. Ensures adherence to Project Portfolio Management framework for project gate approvals.

20BTechnical Solution Development Manages project variances and confers with Senior Project Manager periodically to ensure variances are correctly identified, reported, and managed well. Consults with Enterprise Technology Architecture team to ensure project development efforts adhere to the Statewide Technical Architecture standards. Integrates knowledge and skills from other specialties to address problems of medium complexity. Ensures test plan maps to business requirements. Defines and executes sound project communication plans. Provides PM leadership on complex projects. Facilitates team involvement in resolving difficult technical issues. Ensures sound risk plan and exercises viable mitigation when high impact, controllable risks occur. Ensures adherence to the State Technical Architecture standards as applicable. Has a broad understanding of system development life cycle requirements as they relate to business solution architecture and system design. Works closely with agency architecture and infrastructure teams to leverage their expertise to execute the best technical solution. Advocates project alternatives in line with enterprise standards. Provides Office of State Budget and Management with business case alternative analysis if project is over $10M. Reviews current business processes and determines whether process reengineering should be addressed as part of the project. Addresses all constraints and dependencies of current state and tobe environments. Conduct risk assessment and develop risk mitigation strategy according to chosen solution. Consults and manages with agency teams to execute the best technical solution. Responsible for a successful technical implementation.

21BTechnical Support Able to troubleshoot problems and mitigate risks of medium complexity by reviewing lessons learned with peers and to apply lessons learned from others. Implements technical change management and configuration management processes, and monitors to ensure adherence by the team. Makes project related decisions based on weighing options and consequences. Exploits experience in creative resolution of resource gaps, development of workarounds, and budget shortfalls. Ensures timely execution of transition plan during deployment of project and recommends delay of deployment until ready for handoff to operational staff. Ensures that appropriate SLAs are planned for post-deployment support as well as coverage of Business Continuity requirements Collects and analyzes Lessons Learned from projects as they are identified. Applies relevant lessons learned from other projects to avoid issues. Uses lessons learned from projects and develops best practices for future projects. Develops Business Continuity, Service Level Agreements and Transition Plans with project team and ongoing operations and maintenance so that there are no support issues after project has been completed. Develops information systems testing strategies, plans, or scenarios. Identifies standards or requirements for infrastructure configuration or change management. Ensures appropriate product-related training and documentation are developed and made available to customers.

22BConsultancy Skills Consults with project sponsor to provide status updates on project activities. Builds and maintains customer support of project being managed. Consults with business partners to ensure test cases are adequate to address project success criteria. Identifies and recommends project alternatives that could facilitate more efficient and effective implementation of project deliverables. Conducts effective meetings; makes presentations to various levels of management as required. Provides consultation to the project team, sponsors and other stakeholders on the strategies for moving project forward. Shares lessons learned with other Project Managers through State Project Managers Advisory Group and NC Project Management Institute. Views opportunities for continuous improvement as a requirement for successful projects. Mentors junior project managers to facilitate personal development and minimize project failure risks. Matches junior project managers to experience-appropriate responsibilities, coaches and continuously reviews progress against milestones, proactively develops contingency plans to mitigate risks, and intervenes as needed to turn around struggling projects and develop corrective actions. Builds and manages projects by use of Communication plan; effectively presents project materials to various levels of management. Counsels and advises senior level management and leadership regarding issues and risks, process reengineering, and technology issues. If projects are struggling (own or managed by other PM s), conducts root cause analysis and implements recovery actions. Escalates to upper management if necessary. Participates in the creation/maintenance of an enterprise level-mentoring program. Seeks opportunities to promote and grow the profession within agency, enterprise, and the Project Management community. Builds and manages projects by use of Communication plan; effectively presents project materials to various levels of management. Manages and builds partnerships with vendors, service providers, internal and external agency employees, stakeholders and the business sponsor.